I was really looking forward to the end. This whole thing is just a reason for Warner Bros to cash in big time. So are we going to have to wait till 2014 to see the end? Or will it be some type of bridge film involving various plot elements from the appendices? Can we trust Peter to stretch this fairy tale? will the ending be worth it? This is going to be an interesting turn of events for sure.

People were complaining about multiple endings in LOTR. Imagine if Smaug gets killed and there's another hour and a half of movie left.

So my prediction is that Dol Guldor will be the climax of film 2. We will see Bilbo enter Lonely Mountain and rouse Smaug. Smaug will leave Lonely Mountain and fly down to Laketown, and Film 2 will end there.

THAT way Smaug dies at the beginning of the 3rd movie and there is no chance of anyone mistaking that for the end of the movie. Then the third film is all BO5A.

Although I can't do anything about movie titles, I can change thread titles! Good idea, and you can thank your friends over on Feedback for pointing this out! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I desired dragons with a profound desire"

"It struck me last night that you might write a fearfully good romantic drama, with as much of the 'supernatural' as you cared to introduce. Have you ever thought of it?" -Geoffrey B. Smith, letter to JRR Tolkien, 1915

they must either just be out to get as much cash as they can - i am positive that's the studios involvement. I would like to think PJ is doing it for reasons other than money. At this point he has millions, got oscars and directed the films he wants to, so i doubt for him at least its because of money.

Like you said it does show the team have great confidence in what they have filmed so far that they think they can change it from 2 films to 3. Maybe they just realised they have filmed way too much for 2 films and the running times would be too long, so they figure split it into 3 films and then we only need to add a little more and they are up to a decent length?

These for me will either come out as really very good movies - with the story being given time to have slower, quieter moments which i think all films need to a certain extent, which i felt LOTR, especially TTT and ROTK were lacking at times. This would be great.

However it could go the other way and feel like its too padded out - i am not really bothered if joe public likes it - i am more concerned if we on TORn (as in big fans) like it. I know they arent making it for us as we are a tiny proportion of the people who will watch it but i think if it feels padded out to us then it may feel that way to joe public.

For me it could go either way - I am really really hoping it goes the way of allowing slower character moments, with less reliance on fan fic that would be great :)

Concerned as well... And never took it seriously all this time, but here we go again! My query is about PJ's words about the filmed material, that after a viewing it seemed incomplete?so more filming ahead?

Quote

We know how much of the story of Bilbo Baggins, the Wizard Gandalf, the Dwarves of Erebor, the rise of the Necromancer, and the Battle of Dol Guldur will remain untold if we do not take this chance

Really, how much of Bilbo's story needs further telling than in two movies, or the Guldur plot and the dwarves in Erebor (at the bo5a or after it )? So many questions and contradictions out there that can't win, for me at least, the title of a tremendous announcement. We'll see... All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost, The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

I'm more interested in seeing as much of this universe as possible than I am in getting to see a tight and refined adaptation. The more footage they shoot, the happier I'll be. A few years down the line, there's always the possibility that they could remove the additional material, and present us with a shorter, more faithful version – but that doesn't work in reverse. It's now or never.

Filming as many scenes as possible just seems to be the route while leaves the most doors open for the future. We'll never have to look back and say, 'I wonder how that third film would have worked out?', and for that I'm grateful.